Fillies bounce back, win at Rolling Meadows

Barrington recorded a crucial road victory when it rebounded from a disappointing first half with a superb effort after the break to gain a 1-0 decision over host Rolling Meadows in a Mid-Suburban League crossover match Thursday.

Mary Kubiuk struck the game-winner near the hour mark, just minutes after the Fillies' best attacking sequence of the match when teammate Emily Hyde sent the senior through to help set up Kubiuk for a 1-on-1 with keeper Kelly Zahorski.

"This was the first time we played back-to-back matches, and along with that and the conditions and width of the field, we really struggled in the first half and did not play the way we know that we can," said Fillies midfielder Christina Hirdes, who along with Hyde and Kate Hasse helped give the Fillies (5-1-0, 3-0-0) a much needed boost of energy and pace in the middle.

"We really need to understand that we have to come out and play hard from the very beginning and right until the end in order to win tough matches like this and others that we will be involved in as the season goes on," said Barrington coach Ryan Stengren. "If we're going to be one of the top teams in the area this season, we have to outwork our opponents and find ways to win on days like this."

The improving Mustangs (5-2-0, 1-1-0), coming off an exciting OT win a week ago against Schaumburg, broke inside the Fillies' third with regularity during most of the first half, with the strike-force of Taylor Fritz, Casey Ryan and Alex Partipilo taking advantage of every opportunity given them. The trio produced plenty of pressure to force turnovers by the visitors, giving Meadows coach Jeff Adkins reason for confidence early.

"There were so many good things that we did in that first half, from front-to-back, said Adkins. "Unfortunately, the one thing we didn't do was score."

Fritz was able to get through on the right side, but her shot was turned away by Fillies sophomore keeper Kelly Pedersen at nine minutes to keep things even.

Kubiuk nearly gave her club the lead at 30 minutes when her blast hit the right post, but it did not have enough pace to fall over the line, and an alert Zahorski smothered it instantly.

After intermission it was a different story. Led by Emmelie Hirdes, the Fillies' backline was well organized and Meadows found it difficult to find its attackers.

With the pressure mounting in the Meadows end, Kubiuk found the game-winner with a deft touch in close and past Zahorski, who had no chance on the play.

"There was more purpose to the way we played in the second half, and it was the type of effort that we need to (be) at if we want to meet our goal of getting into the MSL Cup at the end of the season," said Christina Hirdes.